Drug and alcohol abuse is often a taboo subject but by bringing this problem into the open, DrugFAM helps people to realise that there is hope available for the families who historically have been a usually silent, suffering group.

Most of the people we support in person at our groups live in the Thames Valley area, Bucks and Berks but we do have many families who travel from further afield such as Bournemouth, Southend, Sussex and one lady even travelled from Middlesbrough for a few days as she was so desperate for our support. We respond daily though our telephone support line, email facilities and on our web site to people contacting us nationwide.

The charity’s aim is to help the family members to understand their addict’s drug and alcohol problems and addiction creates a ‘family illness’ for everyone. In doing so, DrugFAM provides the family, friends and carers with a daily lifeline of understanding and essential coping strategies. DrugFAM offers the families support, knowledge, hope, guidance and counselling so that their clients can try to break free from the addicts cycle of addiction and steadily find ways to live their lives as normally as possible.

The charity runs weekly support groups, offers the clients, one to one and family counselling, telephone and email support, and befriending services which all help to overcome the feelings of isolation and guilt that are associated with the words addict or addiction. In addition, DrugFAM helps empower parents and families to make significant changes in their own behaviours, which can bring about the vital change in their addict’s behaviour. Crucially the charity help raise awareness of all these issues arising from drug and alcohol addiction by speaking on a regular basis in schools and prisons locally and nationally. In summary we work in six areas

1. Telephone Support 9am to 9pm 7 days a week.

2. Weekly Support Groups for families in High Wycombe, Slough and Wokingham. We are in the process of setting up a fourth group in Chesham from 18th September 2012.

3. Our Befriending Service for families with additional needs such as disabilities, transport or childcare issues or for those families where English is not the first language.

4. One to One Professional and family Counselling

5. The Education work with organisations such as schools, prisons, the probation service and other professionals to offer them an insight into how a loved one’s misuse of drugs or alcohol can affect the lives of families and carers.

6. Our unique Bereaved by Addiction team offer telephone support and meetings in person. The trained support team works closely with our professional counsellor to ensure the best possible care for these individuals and families. DrugFAM also offers the opportunity to attend our annual ‘Bereaved by Addiction Conference’ which this year welcomes 120 delegates.